Nearly 20 year old tax credit repayment demand.

[TonyBravo]

I have just had a letter fall through the door, to tell me a tax credit overpayment from 19 years ago needs paying back.

It's for working tax credits, my ex and I had a claim and then stopped it when we took a year out to move to another country. We thought it was all done and dusted but there was a paperwork mix up that resulted in an large overpayment.

Anyway, I was sure we'd paid it off but this letter arrived today. I've contacted my ex who says he's not received one and if he doesn't he's categorically not going to acknowledge it as it's so long ago.

Is there a cut off period they can ask for it back? I'm already struggling. I can't afford £1k repayment! It's a whole load of stress I don't need at the moment.

And when you say “social care”
What benefits are you referring to?

@implantreplace - well done you can back search a name. we have a ton of debt due to caring for a very sick child and are just making ends meet now there's a huge jump in living costs. Thanks though for making it seem like we're just unwilling to pay. Would you like anymore personal details as proof? If I had the money lying around I'd pay it and be fine with it, ffs.

@implantreplace, I'm talking about contributions to homecare, residential care, day services, following Financial Assessment. Income including state pension, pension credit, attendance allowance, ESA, DLA, PIP, Universal credit, private pensions etc...

We had the same, years later. Contact them and ask for a break down of everything that you originally paid back and for what is now due.

Definitely get a breakdown from them before you pay anything

I will call them tomorrow, it's on my list along with student finance and a shed load of other calls. Thanks to everyone that has been helpful.

I'm still paying stuff off from eleven years ago. It was their mistake from the beginning. I wish I'd never claimed anything.

It's hassle isn't it @BlindGirlMcSqueaky I was looking at claiming UC to get me through my teaching degree but I think I'll just work nights and study days now because I'm already mentally at breaking point.

I'm pretty sure I owe them about £1k. I'll have to pay it back eventually, probably when both my kids are adults.

Yeah I got one from 2009! Bonkers!

If you want to sue someone there is usually a six year time limit to do that. So I’d be surprised if they can take any legal action against you for a debt older than that but guess it depends what was said at the time. Speak to citizens advice bureau.

@implantreplace

* The Secretary of State has a duty to protect public funds and will therefore seek to recover debt in all circumstances where it is reasonable to do so. Waivers are only granted in exceptional circumstances where it can be clearly demonstrated that the debtor’s circumstances will only improve by waiver of the debt. It is not sufficient that an award of DLA or PIP has been made under the special rules for the waiver request to succeed.*

Because I can only find this

Doesn't seem to apply to companies who've wrongly profited from furlough schemes and mp's and their friends who get government money for many spurious reasons.

www.litrg.org.uk/latest-news/news/191023-do-you-have-old-tax-credit-debt
This explains it all very clearly.

[quote Velvian]@implantreplace, I'm talking about contributions to homecare, residential care, day services, following Financial Assessment. Income including state pension, pension credit, attendance allowance, ESA, DLA, PIP, Universal credit, private pensions etc...[/quote]
Sadly social care overpayment is also not subject to any limitations

I have worked for DWP in past for 4 years.

There’s no statute for any overpayment by public funds at all

However if you can provide any link or any government statement or citizens advice or anything - I will be very happy to be proved wrong

Social care contributions are absolutely statute barred. I'm not talking about repayment to the dwp, this is payment to the local authority for assessed contributions.

Considering only about 1pc of overpayments were due to fraud and the rest was due to errors in the system I do feel it is unfair that there is no time limitations on collecting these overpayments.

I also received a letter OP, regarding the 08-09 financial year. It was the first time I had heard that I had been overpaid and I now have none of the paperwork to contest this. I was entitled to tax credits at the time and always updated them, I was working part-time varying hours at the time. I can afford to pay this but I'm sure many won't especially with rising costs.

I Periodically get these letters, like once every five years. The first time I freaked out and researched it and saw there were a lot of people fighting it. I appealed and they said I still have to pay that was 6 years ago. I've never paid anything.

I'm self employed and pay tax through self assessment. If it ever turns up there as a tax owed I'll pay it but before that time comes I've just ignored it. Nothing has happened so far. I have come to think they are just trying their luck

It's a huge hassle. I've agreed repayments from my UC which I get for having a disability. Now and again they randomly increase the payment to £100 a month which means I have to chase them to put it down again. It really cheeses me off.

Wow. Who even keeps their paperwork for this length of time so that they would be able to refer back? I'm quite anal about keeping official papers (I have a full sized filing cabinet at home) but even I would have pruned and shredded stuff from that long ago. I was under the (seemingly incorrect) impression that you only needed to keep papers relating to taxes for 7 years!

If you have evidence that you provided all the correct information then do challenge it. It’s a bit of a grey area but I successfully challenged a similar thing because it was their mistake and I argued I shouldn’t be penalised for something they did a long time ago. I gave all the accurate information but they miscalculated.
When you think about it it’s outrageous. A company you bought something from couldn’t come back to you 20 years later and say ‘sorry, the price was wrong’.

I was threatened with all sorts but refused to back down because I was so searingly angry about it.

So it is possible to win if you are on sure footing.

@Velvian

Social care contributions are absolutely statute barred. I'm not talking about repayment to the dwp, this is payment to the local authority for assessed contributions.

Please can you provide link

A relative is going through this currently

I have no evidence to provide him with your statement

Something
Anything!

Sometimes the Limitation Act does apply to tax credit debt. Source, including a link to gov page. Also see Step Change advice.

Stuff like this really bothers me. How can they be claiming back something from 19 years ago! That's awful and so worrying as in my experience the mistakes are alot of the time on their part